In this episode, David and Katie take listener questions on a variety of topics including how to manage a major Mac upgrade 7 years in the making, how we battle RSI through Ergonomics, an update on giving Keynote presentations with the iPad and iPhone, best battery practices,Privacy, Dropbox’s recent drama and we share a major announcement about the future of Mac Power Users.
Links of note
Apple Support Document on Batteries
1Password: Toward Better Master Passwords
MacSparky screencast on encrypted disk image
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Things have changed since my post in MPU 052.
For whatever reason, both my Boot Camp Win 7 and the Parallels virtual machine based on that install required “Activation” from Microsoft. I ended up speaking to Microsoft Tech Support in India, then finally giving up and working through the tedious re-activation process in Boot Camp and in Parallels. Different activations of the same full install.
Yeesh.
Even so, the Quicken in Parallels wasn’t “quite” right. Every time it started, it presumed I was running it the first time. It lost track of the files I had created and used, every time.
So if you have to run Quicken Windows, I’m again seconding the cheap Windows box. Toshiba laptop in today’s Sunday inserts for less than $300 would probably do it.
What you’ll lose from Mac Qkn 2007 is import and export. The first import goes well, thereafter forget it. Intuit, I learned, embeds codes in the QFX files banks send. The banks have to pay Intuit to get the codes, and without the codes, there’s no QFX import. Period. None. Intuit also changes the codes so that every three years the Quicken you bought and own stops downloading from your bank.
I’d so love to leave Intuit in the dust.
But I need the ability to merge financial data from different locations, and QIF has done that for me since the mid-1980s.
Right now Quicken 2007 runs just fine on Snow Leopard. Right now all the printers and people who connect with Snow Leopard connect just fine. New and shiny Lion may be, I’ve decided to take what I learned from Dr. Mac, and stop looking for a new way to do what I already can, and quite well. I’ll be sticking with Snow Leopard and Quicken 2007.
Don’t know what I’ll do when the Snow Leopard machines we currently use start expiring. Good thing there’s a small fleet of them.
I was jumping up and down, trying to get his attention as I listened to David driving home tonight. This as he suggested that someone could ‘own this space’ when commenting on the lack of a good money app for the Mac. [ see below ]
I last posted a reply on this back in Oct 2010 and I think MoneyWorks was mentioned in the following episode notes.
It is worth noting that this app is a serious accounting package and made by people who are understand Mac.
This is a real contender for replacing MYOB and Quicken. Been using it for years now .. and well worth checking out.
I believe demos are available and yes they are LION 10.7 compatible.
http://www.cognito.co.nz/
Stephen
///////////
For doing an ipad presentation in a court room, why not just use the Digital AV Adapter, rather than setting up an AppleTV/Airport Express?
http://www.apple.com/uk/ipad/features/mirroring.html
Stephen -
The Moneyworks series is quite good. Where it didn’t meet my needs is the ability to run versions in different offices and merge the results through a QIF like import.
“Real” accounting software (the Moneyworks series, Account Edge, even Quickbooks) is designed to create an “audit trail.” That usually means tracking who does what, when. It also usually means it is not possibly to simply erase a defective entry. It has to be reversed through a “Journal Voucher” procedure, then re-entered. PROBABLY the lack of “import via QIF type feature” is related to the need to keep the “audit trail,” although its lack also drives users who need the feature up the price ladder to a a multi-user networked version.
Using Quicken at its limits, I’ve been able to hold our software costs down to five Quicken licenses, while avoiding the complexities of trying to run accounting software over a VPN.
For all who are interested, there’s a very basic version of Moneyworks (Cashworks) available on the Apple Mac App Store, and a free trial at the Cognito site you linked. I’d consider that version more an option for the Quicken Essentials customers, but definitely worth a look, and a first rung on the Moneyworks ladder.
>>> Katie, you mentioned using QE and not printing checks. When released QE didn’t, now it does. But as you commented, your data is pretty much locked in . . .
Joining the 5by5 family is exciting news indeed – I already listen to a number of Dan Benjamin’s shows, and it’s great to have the Mac Power Users join him.
Hello David and Katie!
First off, great news on your move to the 5by5 network. Dan Benjamin has built a great network and you guys will fit nicely in the lineup!
I think you mentioned MoneyWell briefly, but I would say that you should give it another look. I used Quicken for Mac years a go and had a bad experience with it. I then moved to another couple of Mac financial apps and even tried Mint. None gave me the control of reports and more importantly budgeting that I wanted.
Over the couple of years I have used MoneyWell, I have seen many updates and an iPhone app which syncs with my Mac. The folks who support MoneyWell are extremely responsive too.
Anyway, since I didn’t see a link to MoneyWell above, I will drop it here:
http://nothirst.com/moneywell/
Thanks!
Mark
a couple things
1) the mint link is broken
2) has anyone tried Koku as a financial application?
On battery calibration – there is a nice little app called Watts which helps you follow the steps set out by Apple.
You tell it how often you want to calibrate (every 5 weeks by default) and then, when it’s time, you get little growl-like notifications which lead you through the steps, automatically recognising when you’ve completed one and need to move to the next.
The app also gives easy, menubar access to battery information and the preferences provide even more info as well as automating the optimal battery condition for long-term storage.
If you’re into monitoring and conditioning the state of your battery, it’s a no-brainer at $7.
To help with privacy (at least with surfing the web), I highly recommend Ghostery,
http://www.ghostery.com/
It’s a browser extension for the major browsers (including Safari). It will tell you which of the cookie-based tracking services are enabled on the particular page (and optionally block them). When it gives you the list, it gives a link to a page to find out more about the service. You’d be surprised how many of these services are out there. On this page, Ghostery only detects “Facebook Social Plugins”.
Oh, I quite like Moneywell that was recommended above. The only caveat is that its budgeting system is a bit different and can take some getting used to.
Congrats on the 5×5 affiliation. I’ve been listening to more and more of their podcasts which are so good. You two will fit right in.
I’ve been running a trial of http://www.freeagentcentral.com/ to replace my bookkeeping software. UK based but their universal account looks just right for international/ US small business. Not sure it’s totally suitable for personal finances but might be worth a look.
On the cloud and security issues, you might want to look at spideroak.com.
It encrypts the file on you Mac before it uploads it to the cloud so that only you and your computer know the key.
There is also an iPad app.
Still stuck with Dropbox for 1password syincing, though.
About the RSI issues with mice and trackpads, a couple of suggestions. I’ve had issues with my wrists for years, but two things have helped:
1. If I need to use a mouse (video games for example), then I alternate hands. I’m a righty, but switching hands only took about a week or so to adjust, and I’m just as good with my left as my right now. So I switch every week or two.
2. Get a bamboo tablet and use the pen. Despite issues with my wrists, I’ve never had issues writing with a pen, and so the Bamboo fits perfectly. Again, it takes a bit of getting used to, but after a few days, it’s just as good as a mouse.
Why would you scare that guy who was about to upgrade from powerbook? Mail in Lion does support POP3. It doesn’t have the visible preference, but it does ask the server when you enter your account details and automatically choses whichever — POP3 or IMAP — is available.